The Montreal Canadiens were well on their way to a solid road win on Thursday night. They led the game 3-2 against the New Jersey Devils with about a minute left in the third period.
But then, disaster struck. The Devils pulled the goalie to push for the equalizer. A misplay in front of the net led to Timo Meier tying the game with about 1:07 to go in the third.
All right, these things happen. Teams push to tie games, and well, they succeed from time to time.
But what happened in overtime left Canadiens fans shaking their heads. A horrific miscue by Canadiens forward Alex Newhook led to a scoring chance that the Devils did not miss.
Here’s a look at the atrocious play in question as shown on the New Jersey Devils’ official X account:
The replay showed Newhook bobbling the puck at the Devils’ blue line. Jesper Bratt pounced on the puck and went up ice. To compound the matter, neither Newhook nor Ivan Demidov was able to get back into the play in time.
By the time both forwards got back, Bratt was celebrating the game-winner.
All told, the Canadiens gave up a 3-2 lead in a span of about three minutes. The Habs could have walked away from the Prudential Center with two points and a regulation win. Instead, the Canadiens get a loser point after blowing the lead late in the game.
Canadiens on Two-Game Skid after Back-to-Back Blown Leads
Thursday night’s loss marks a two-game skid for the Canadiens. They lost to the Flyers last Tuesday night in the shootout after mounting a miraculous comeback. The Habs were down 3-0 to the Flyers before rallying to take a 4-3 lead.
But the Canadiens allowed the Flyers to tie the game in the third period. Then, the Habs lost the game in the shootout, letting another point in the standings slip away.
So, it’s now two games in a row that the Canadiens have let third-period leads slip away. That’s a concerning trend as top playoff teams manage to hold one-goal leads late in games. After all, that’s the type of hockey played in the postseason.
It’s still relatively early in the season, of course. But now is the time for the Canadiens to shore up these sorts of issues. Letting points slip away in the standings in November can come back to haunt teams.
Bruins, Maple Leafs Heating up, Catching up to Montreal
The biggest issue with letting points slip away is that divisional opponents can take advantage of the situation.
The Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs have done so. After mediocre starts by both clubs, they seem to be catching on. The Bruins have now won five in a row, while the Maple Leafs have won three straight. That’s no bueno for the Canadiens.
The Canadiens will need to hold off these challengers, including the Detroit Red Wings, if they are to remain atop the Atlantic Division. With so much hockey left to go, Montreal could see its hold on first place gradually fade away.
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